Jerry McCrea/The Star-LedgerSteph Pasquale has been intentionally walked 24 times this season and is now batting leadoff for Pompton Lakes because her coach figures, if teams want to put her on base with walks, she could be on base with no one out to start the game.

Steph Pasquale kicked up dust in the batter's box, gripped her hands tightly around the bat and peered toward the pitcher.

Pasquale, a junior slugger at Pompton Lakes, didn't know what to expect.

She had been intentionally walked in her previous trip to the plate, bringing her season total of free passes to 24. And even with two outs and nobody on base, there was no guarantee she'd see a pitch to hit, a trend that has encapsulated her season.

Then it happened: The Dumont pitcher challenged her.

The result: Pasquale knocked the cover off the ball -- literally -- tattering the laces on the neon yellow ball. Her shot to deep right field rolled through the fenceless outfield, and Pasquale rounded the bases easily for an inside-the-park home run, her 10th homer this season.

"She's definitely a tough choice up there," Pompton Lakes coach Karyn Albanesius said. "She can change the game with one swing."

Pasquale is one of many such hitters in the state. And as with many of the others, actually getting a chance to swing is the hardest part of their at-bats.

As the state completes sectional semifinal softball play Wednesday -- inching closer to the state title games -- Pasquale and other top sluggers in the area are eager to see if the higher level of play will lead to a higher number of pitchers willing to face them.

Pasquale, Katherine VanBenschoten of Cranford and Cara Vitale of Wall, among others, have each watched their power numbers dwindle as hurlers find new ways to pitch to them -- and around them.

"It's a difficult thing to get through because being walked is terrible," Pasquale said. "It gets to your head after a while."

Pasquale, who is being recruited by Fordham and Temple, has still put up strong numbers: She's batting .523 with an on-base percentage of .644.

And she's now batting leadoff. The way Albanesius figures it, if teams want to put her on, why not have her be on first with no one out to start the game?

Dumont pitcher Elizabeth Karash had heard about Pasquale from teammates, and read about her in newspapers. Even so, she preferred to pitch to her, only issuing an intentional walk at the request of her coach.

"I'd rather go at them," Karash said, before admitting, "She's one of the better hitters we've seen. No matter what I threw her, I feel like she could either step in or out and hit it."

Dumont coach Richard Wilson agreed.

"You can't go in not thinking about her because she can dominate a game," he said. "She's as good as I've seen in my 31 years I've been doing this. The girl can hit."

VanBenschoten has similar acumen from the plate -- she has been walked 22 times and has an on-base percentage of .540 -- but this season has been frustrating for the Fordham-bound senior.

VanBenschoten entered the season with 40 career homers, enough to put her on pace to threaten the state's all-time record, which is believed to be 55. But this season, opponents have rarely put the ball over the plate, catching VanBenschoten by surprise when they do. The battle she wages in her head during at-bats has contributed to her hitting only four home runs so far.

"I had a lot of personal goals for myself this year," VanBenschoten said. "I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I feel like I'm not doing as much as I could be doing for my team. I feel like I'm letting my team down in a way. They don't see it that way, but I do."

VanBenschoten has remained productive, compiling 20 hits and 21 RBI, but she has tried to do her most damage on the basepaths, where she has career highs in steals and steal percentage.

Vitale of Wall has had similar experiences this season as she helps her team more with her feet than her bat. A North Carolina-bound senior, Vitale estimates she has seen only a handful of pitches over the plate this season. She has been walked 11 times and hit by a pitch nine times.

"They're really hard to come by," Vitale said of strikes. "I haven't legitimately gotten that good of a pitch this year. They either pitch high and try to get me to chase it or they pitch inside and try to jam me. It's annoying."

Aside from the frequent walks, Pasquale, VanBenschoten and Vitale have this in common: Their teams are all still alive in the state softball tournament. They hope the deeper their teams go, the more likely they will be to see pitches across the plate. But they know walks are still possible.

"You have to overcome it," Pasquale said. "It's what they want to do, which is fine, because I have confidence in everyone on my team to get me in."